Working closely with his running mates, Selectmen candidates Monica McNally and Marcy Minnick, Jon shares a common platform with the other two candidates. Together, their view for the future of Darien is bright and includes a unified and continued focus on keeping Darien an attractive place for families as well as local businesses.

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Overlying all of these, however, is the importance of relationships. Since political power in town is distributed, as it should be, the relationships among those in authority (elected officials or town employees) are extremely important. During his time in office, Jon has sought to spend one-on-one time with other officials to understand their views and build a rapport. He will continue this vital and ongoing outreach as First Selectmen.

 

About Jon:

Jon was born in California but raised in Houston. He and his wife, Sara, have been married since 1999 and have resided in Darien since 2005. They have two children, Maggie and Jack.

 

Jon attended Washington & Lee University in Virginia, graduating with a degree in Economics and Romance Languages. Later, he earned an MBA at the Wharton School in Philadelphia. After Wharton, Jon worked at McKinsey & Co. for 16 years and Oak Hill Capital Partners for 7 years. Currently, he is COO at Rhône Group LLC, a middle market private equity firm.  He is retiring from Rhône effective December 31, 2023 and will work full-time as First Selectman. 

 

What Jon brings to the job:

Since moving to Darien in 2005, Jon and his family have been involved in many leadership roles, civic activities and charities during their 16 years here, including: 

Member of the Board of Selectmen (2021-present)

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Member of the Board of Finance (2008-2021, Chairman 2015-2021)

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Member of the Town and Police Pension Boards (2008-2017)

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Member of the Public Works Garage Building Committee (2017-2019) and Ox Ridge School Building Committee (2019-2020)

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Past President of the Darien Historical Society (2011-2015)

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Past President of the Board of Trustees for The Forman School, a boarding school in Litchfield that specializes in teaching children with language-based learning difficulties (2016-2022)

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Member of the Board of Directors of Project for Public Spaces (Treasurer), a New York-based nonprofit focused on helping create and sustain strong communities through leadership of the global Placemaking movement (2015-Present).

 

FUN FACTS:

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• JZ is a commercial pilot and owns a Piper Seneca based at Sikorsky Field in Bridgeport.

• JZ published “The Rats are in the Cheese,” a novel written as a sequel to George Orwell’s Animal Farm that offers new thinking on the subject of U.S. tax reform (available on Amazon).

• JZ speaks French and Spanish and enjoys traveling abroad.

• JZ’s puppy Shiloh is the newest addition to the family and she may be spotted along the campaign trail!